As a Sabres fan, the last decade has been bleak, to say the least. There’s starting to be some light at the end of the tunnel, and the newest example came on Monday night. The Sabres did something they hadn’t in 33 years: win a game after being down by four goals. The Sabres came back from 4-0 to tie the game at 4, then went down 5-4 before Alex Tuch tied the game with 2:14 left, then Tage Thompson won it with 11 seconds left. The team is 6-1-2 in the last nine games with plenty of encouraging signs. We should see Owen Power sooner than later as well. From a fantasy perspective, the biggest story has to be Thompson. He’s up to 28 goals on the season and over three shots per game. The jump he’s made this season while moving to center is remarkable. Thompson is still available in over 50% of leagues and quite frankly, I don’t understand it at all. He’s a clear hold. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Monday’s Games
Victor Olofsson – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Whatever injury was causing Olofsson to be timid shooting the puck has gone away. He’s a solid streamer with upside if he moves back to PP1.
Rasmus Dahlin – Two assists with five shots. Dahlin played 21:37 at 5v5 in this game. The shots were 17-1, high danger chances were 9-0, and goals were 2-0 for the Sabres. Is that good? The Dahlin breakout is happening in front of us. Now imagine Power taking the tough matchups and Dahlin feasting on weaker competition. The massive fantasy season should be in the cards next season.
Dylan Cozens – Two assists with a shot. Cozens was one of the best players in this game. Once the team around him gets better, Cozens will be more of a fantasy factor.
Alex DeBrincat – Goal and an assist. Four straight games with 1+1 for DeBrincat. 38 goals on the season. Is that good?
Dylan Strome – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. He has to be held while he’s with DeBrincat and Kane.
Dominik Kubalik – Two assists. Even after the trades, Kubalik is only getting 13-14 minutes per game. That leaves him as a middling streamer at best.
Frederik Andersen – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 6-1 win over the Capitals. Andersen has been as good as anybody on a per-game basis.
Martin Necas – Two goals and an assist with four shots and two PIM. I was expecting a big breakout from Necas, but instead he’s taken a step back. He’s stuck as a solid streamer.
Vincent Trocheck – Two assists with two shots. Like Necas, Trocheck has taken a big step back this season. His shot rate has gone down the tubes to be a solid streamer.
Teuvo Teravainen – Two assists with a shot. It’s not exciting, but Teravainen is still piling up assists to be a clear hold.
Brady Skjei – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. There’s some deep league value here, but nothing in standard leagues due to lack of PP time.
Max Domi – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. Domi has looked good in Carolina, but the minutes are very low. I’d look elsewhere.
Ville Husso – 35 saves on 36 shots in the 4-1 win over the Canucks. There’s been some rough games mixed in, but Husso’s overall numbers are excellent. It’s clear that Berube is riding him for the rest of the season.
Vladimir Tarasenko – Two goals and an assist with five shots. He’s back to a point per game and over three shots per. Incredible comeback from Tarasenko off three shoulder surgeries.
Robert Thomas – Two assists. Matchbox Twenty is at a point per game as well due to the pile of assists, which is enough to make it worth stomaching the poor shot rate.
Mikko Koskinen – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 6-1 win over the Coyotes. Koskinen’s numbers are rough, but the wins are well above average. That’s enough to keep him a step above desperation.
Ryan McLeod – Two goals and an assist with six shots. I have a hard time caring about McLeod even with PP2 time.
Leon Draisaitl – Goal and an assist with six shots. The race with Matthews for the Rocket is really heating up.
Jesse Puljujarvi – Two assists with four shots. He’s a solid streamer while he’s in the top six with upside from there depending on what PP unit Puljujarvi is on.
Chris Driedger – 36 saves on 37 shots in the 6-1 win over the Kraken. Five games on Monday, four teams with six goals, three of which won 6-1. Driedger has been a disaster in Seattle, like the team itself. He’s still a desperation play.
Vince Dunn – Two assists with four shots and five PIM. I had Dunn as the only hold on the Kraken on Monday and he rewarded me with a monster performance. He’s a definite hold with Giordano gone.
Tuesday’s Games
Auston Matthews – Goal and an assist, as did Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly. John Tavares dished two assists. When the Toronto stars are playing like it, it’s a treat to watch. The watch for 60 goals for Matthews is on.
David Pastrnak – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. The tear that Pasta has been on after a dreadful start is as good as anybody in the league.
Charlie McAvoy – Two assists with two PIM. McAvoy has settled into being a solid #2 fantasy defenseman for his plus contributions across the board.
Chris Kreider – Goal and an assist with four shots. Kreider started the season on the third line and now he has 45 goals. What a ridiculous season from him.
Artemi Panarin – Two assists with two shots. The goals are way down, but Panarin has a chance for 80 assists.
Kris Letang – Two assists. It’s been a treat to have Letang stay healthy for most of the season. He’s been unlucky in the shooting department, but everything else has been outstanding.
Seth Jarvis – Goal and an assist. Middling streamer while he’s on the top line because the minutes don’t match his counterparts. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Steven Stamkos – Goal and two assists with two shots. Nikita Kucherov dished three assists, all on the power play. Carolina was on pace for a record PK but three goals will dampen that. Tampa’s PP is still as good as it gets when healthy. What a season from Stammer who thankfully has stayed on the ice.
Brayden Point – Goal and an assist with four shots. It’s no surprise that Point has been much better with Tampa’s lineup getting healthier and deeper.
Anthony Cirelli – Two assists with a shot. Cirelli has disappointed overall this season, but his points are better than last season. The PIM are through the roof, which I don’t really buy as sustainable. He’s a solid streamer.
Chris Wideman – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Wideman has eight points in the last nine games, but the shots are dreadful and the assists seem a bit fluky. He’s a deep league play at best.
Laurent Dauphin – Goal and an assist with two shots. Nothing to see here.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Two goals and an assist with seven shots. He fell a little bit behind pace of the two Oilers, but Huberdeau’s already set a career high in points with a month to spare. 30+85 is in play which is insane.
Sam Bennett – Goal and two assists with five shots and two PIM. Bennett is still an elite streamer, but I’m not looking to hold at the moment.
Ryan Lomberg – Two goals and an assist with three shots. There could be more here if Lomberg was on a different team, but Lomberg is usually stuck on the fourth line in Florida. His points came with three different set of linemates which is better than all on the fourth line, but still, he’s a bottom end streamer.
Aleksander Barkov – Goal and an assist with seven shots and two PIM. You couldn’t get one more point for me in the challenge?
Brock Nelson – Goal and an assist with two shots. What a ridiculous run by Nelson getting up to 32 goals. He’s over 23% shooting which is wildly unsustainable, but he needs to be held nonetheless.
Anders Lee – Two assists with five shots. Lee has been on fire since moving onto a line with Nelson. He’s in the elite streamer category.
Mathew Barzal – Two assists with a shot. I have Barzal in the elite streamer category as well.
Vladislav Gavrikov – Two goals on five shots. Remember this game because I highly doubt Gavrikov ever scores two goals in a game again.
Patrik Laine – Two assists with five shots and four PIM. I’m very interested to see what happens with Laine in the offseason. Does Columbus give him big money? Does he stay in limbo? Offensively, he’s back and as good as ever.
Juuse Saros – 36 saves on 37 shots in the 4-1 win over the Senators. This was one of the most impressive games of the season from a goalie as Saros made a handful of incredible saves. He’s been as valuable of a goalie as any this season besides Igor.
Mattias Ekholm – Three assists with four shots and two PIM. Ekholm’s offense has really dried up this season. He had been a bottom end hold in 12’ers in the past, but he’s a deep leagues guy now.
Michael McCarron – Two goals on three shots. McCarron has had a few big games on the fourth line this season, but he’s not on my streaming radar.
Alexandre Carrier – Two assists with a shot. Carrier has been decent in his first full season. There’s clear deep value here and it wouldn’t shock me if he can push towards a bottom end hold next year.
Marc-Andre Fleury – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 4-1 win over the Flyers. MAF has the chance to win leagues down the stretch depending on the volume he gets. Realistically, he went to the best place possible at the deadline.
Frederick Gaudreau – Two assists with two shots. Middling streamer on his line.
Joel Eriksson Ek – Two assists with a shot. JEE is also in the middling streamer category, although I prefer him to Gaudreau.
Darcy Kuemper – 44 saves on 45 shots in the 2-1 win over the Flames. In his last two starts against Calgary, Kuemper has saved 90 of 91 shots. Pretty, pretty good.
Valeri Nichushkin – Two goals on four shots and two PIM. Big Val is on a massive tear and the minutes are through the roof on the top line. He’s playing like Dallas hoped when they made him a top ten pick.
Devon Toews – Two assists. Let’s hope Toews is okay after taking an elbow to the head late in the game.
Derek Grant – Goal and an assist with two shots. With Anaheim depleted, Grant is getting a lot of work with Trevor Zegras (two assists with five shots). Grant is at least a middling streamer at the moment.
Three Point Challenge: We will do Thursday’s games. You can’t select McDavid, Drasiaitl, Huberdeau, Gaudreau, Matthews, Tkachuk, Kaprizov, Kadri, Connor, or Josi. I’ll go with Pastrnak against the Devils.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday with either part one, or all of the Playoff Manifesto. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
